Canadian Warplanes 1: Hawker Fury, 1934 RAF visit to Canada

Hawker Fury

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3521020)

Hawker Fury fighters from No. 1 Squadron, RAF, visiting Canada.  They arrived by ship possibly in late May 1934. They then toured Canada, and put on airshows like this one at RCAF Station Rockcliffe, Ontario, on 28 June 1934.  It appears the Serial Numbers for these five aircraft are K2899, K2900, K2901, K2071 and K2074. They were returned to the UK by ship after the tour the same year.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3580856)

Hawker Fury, RAF (Serial No. K2900), No. 1 Squadron,  warming up for an airshow at RCAF Station Rockcliffe, Ontario, 14 July 1934.  Five were shipped to Canada and took part in airshows across Canada, including Toronto, Ontario.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3580848)

Hawker Fury, RAF (Serial No. K2901), No. 1 Squadron officers, RCAF Station Rockcliffe, Ontario, 14 July 1934.  K2899, K2900, K2901, K2071 and K2074 are in the line-up

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3580847)

Hawker Fury, RAF (Serial No. K2901), No. 1 Squadron, rear view, RCAF Station Rockcliffe, Ontario, 14 July 1934.

(Chronoscope Photo)

Three Hawker Furys, No. 1 Squadron.  As per the licence plate on the fuel truck, it was in 1934 and in the province of Quebec. The picture comes from a collection of the archive of Quebec city.  The picture was most likely taken at the aerodome Saint-Louis also named aerodrome du Bois-Gomin.  This was before the construction of the actual airport.  The interesting thing is the last three numbers (878) of the only plane with a partially visible registration number.  This means that there were more than five aircraft taking part in this visit.  (Jean-Francois St-Pierre)

(Tony Hisgett Photo)

Hawker Fury Mk. I (Serial No. K5674) in airworthy condition is owned and maintained by the Historical Aircraft Collection and based at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in the United Kingdom.  This Fury was delivered to the RAF in 1935 and allocated to No. 43 Squadron, where it was flown until 1939.  In 1940, it was sent to South Africa where it was flown by No. 13 Squadron of the South African Air Force.  It was written-off after making a forced landing, due to running out of fuel.  It was returned to the United Kingdom in 2003 and restored to flying condition, with the civil registration G-CBZP, making its first post-restoration flight in July 2012.

A second surviving Hawker Fury Mk. I (Serial No. K1928), is being restored at Little Gransden Airfield by the Cambridge Bomber and Fighter Society.  K1928 was part of the first production batch of 21 aircraft built in the 1930s and was also flown by No. 43 Squadron.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3580860)

Hawker Fury, July 1934.